Belt measuring machine



Dec. 5, 1950 u. c. HAREN 2,532,715

BELT MEASURING MACHINE Filed Sept. 6, 1947 Patented Dec. 5, 1950 BELT MEASURING MACHINE Urban C. Haren, Akron, Ohio, assigner to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 6, 1947, Serial No. 772,553

4 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatusl for measuring endless belts while running under tension and is especially useful in the matching of endless V-belts for use in sets.

It is an object of the invention to provide for quickly applying or releasing tension to the belt with a minimum of effort on the part of the operator Other objects are to provide accurate measurements of tension, to provide ease of adjustment to belts of different lengths and to provide for testing belts of short lengths.

These and other objects will appear from. the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Of the drawings:

Fig'. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus constructed in accordance with and embodying the invention, parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of the tensioningA pulleys with the belt thereon and the indicating means.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates a frame or support which supports one end of a rail Il, the other end of which is supported by a pedestal l2., the arrangement being such that the rail is supported horizontally with its upper and lower edges exposed throughout their lengths, the rail being in the form of a flat strip of metal and being supported between its upper and lower edges from one side of the strip Mounted for adjustable positioning along the rail Il is a carriage I4 having upper and llo-wer pairs of grooved rollers l5, I6 rotatably mounted on studs thereon for rolling engagement with the upper and lower edge surfaces of the rail respectively.

Mounted on carriage I 4 on a horizontal shaft l1 rotatably jolurnaled in the carriage is a grooved belt pulley I 8 for receiving a bight of the belt I9 to be tested, and also a pulley 2!) for driving the shaft Il, both pulleys being fixed to the shaft. A motor 2| having a speed reducer 22 thereon is mounted on the carriage I4 and has a driving pulley 23 in alignment with pulley 20. A belt 2'4 drives pulley 2l) from pulley 23.

Carriage M may be clamped to the rail Il at any desired position, and for this purpose a clamp screw 25 is threaded through an ear on carriage I4 in position to engage the lower side of the rail Il. The rail may have sockets formed in its lower side at desired intervals therealong to engage the end of the clamp screw. A, scale 26 is provided alo-ng the rail il, and a pointer 2l on the carriage is positioned alo-ng the scale to indicate the position of the carriage relative to the rail.

Mounted on'frame I!! is a bracket 3.@ having a horizontal stub shaft 3l Xed thereto. A pendulum-like oscillating or swinging lever 32 is pivotally mounted on the stub shaft. At its upper portion the lever 32 carries a stub shaft 33 about which a. grooved driven pulley 3i is jo-urnaled about a horizontal axis and in alignment with the -riving pulley E'S so as to engage in a bight of the belt i9 to be tested. The arrangement is such that the. pulley t3 may be located close to the pulley 34 for engaging short belts `or may be located at a greater distance along the rail for' belts of greater length.

For tensioning the belt I9, a bell-crank lever 35 is pivotally mounted on a horizontal shaft 3S secur'ed to framel lll. Thev vertical arm of the bell crank is bifurcated and carries a pin 31 which extends through a vertical slot 38 in the lower portion of lever 32. The horizontal arm of the bell crank 35 has a weight 39 adjustable therealong and adapted to be xed thereto by a set screw 4B, The arrangement is such that the weight 39 urges the bell crank in a counter-clockwise rotational movement, `as seen in Fig. 1, swinging the lever 32 clockwise about its pivo-t 3l and tensioning the belt i9. A scale il on the horizontal arm or beam of the bell crank 35 indicates the position of the weight 39. An arcuate scale 42 is secured to frame l@ and a pointer 43 adjacent thereto on lever 32 indicates deections of the lever from a central or vertical position.

For relieving the tension on the belt, a pressurefluid operated double-acting cylinder 5B has one end pivotally mounted on frame I 0, as at 5I. Its piston rod 52 is secured to a forked member 53 having a slot 5l! for engaging about pin 31. The ends of the cylinder are connected by flexible tubes '55, 55 to a four-way lever-operated valve 5l, whereby uid under pressure may be admitted to tube 55 to advance the piston rod and swing the lever 32 in a counterclockwise direction to release tension on the belt, or fluid may be admitted to tube 55 withdrawing the piston rod to permit tensioning of the belt. The slotted connection of the forked member 53 permits limited swinging movement of pendulum lever 32 without objectionable interference of the lifting mechanism.

In the operation of the apparatus, the clamp screw 25 is loosened and the carriage i4 adjusted to the desired position for the pulleys I8, 34 to engage the belt to be tested when the lever 32 is 3 vertical. The carriage is then clamped to the rail Il. Pressure fluid is admitted to tube 55 to advance the piston rod and swing the upper end of lever 32 to the left. A belt I9 is placed upon pulley I8, 34 and pipe 55 is exhausted and iluid pressure admitted to pipe 5B to free Weight 35 and apply tension to the belt. Motor 2| is then started and the pointer 43 is observed to determine whether the belt is of the right length, the deviation from correct length being indicated by the position of the pointer on scale 42.

The weight lifting mechanism controlled by valve 5l enables changing of belts with little physical exertion.

Variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as it is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for measuring the length of an endless belt running under tension, said apparatus comprising driving and driven pulleys for engaging the belt in running relation thereto, a support, said driving pulley being adjustably secured to said support and being rotatable about an axis, swinging lever means comprising a lever mounted on said support and having means mounted thereon for supporting said driven pulley for swinging movement therewith and for free rotation relative thereto, means engaging said swinging means for applying tension to the` belt, means responsive to movement of said swinging means for indicating the length of the belt, and a power-operated link on said support engageable with said lever means for applying an opposing force thereto for relieving the tension on the belt to facilitate removal of the belt from said pulleys.

2. Apparatus for measuring the length of an endless belt running under tension, said apparatus comprising driving and driven pulleys for engaging the belt in running relation thereto, said driving pulley being mounted for rotation about an axis, a support for said driving pulley, an oscillating lever pivotally mounted on said support, said leve-r having means for rotatably supporting said driven pulley for swinging movement therewith toward and from said driving pulley, said driven pulley being rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis of swinging movement, means acting upon said lever to tension the belt, means responsive to movement of said lever for indicating the length of the belt, and a power-operated link mounted on said support and engageable with said lever and adapted to apply a counteracting force thereto to relieve tension on the belt for facilitating removal thereof.

3. Apparatus for measuring the length of an endless belt running under tension, said apparatus comprising driving and driven pulleys for engaging the belt in running relation thereto, a support having rail, a carriage adjustable along said rail, said carriage having means for supporting andV driving said driving pulley, an oscillating lever pivotally mounted on said support, said lever having means for rotatably supporting said driven pulley, means acting upon said lever to tension the belt, and means engageable with said lever and adapted to apply a counter-acting force thereto to relieve tension on the belt for facilitating removal thereof.

4. Apparatus for measuring the length of an endless belt running under tension, said apparatus comprising driving and driven pulleys for engaging the belt in running relation thereto, a support having a rail, a carriage adjustable along said rail, said carriage having means for supporting and driving said driving pulley, an oscillating lever pivotally mounted on said support, said lever having means for rotatably supporting said driven pulleyy a bell crank pivotally mounted on said support, said bell crank having a vertical arm engaging said lever and a horizontalweighted arm for applying a tensioning load to the belt, and means engageable with said bellcrank lever to lift said weighted arm to relieve the belt from tension and facilitate removal of the belt.

URBAN C. HAREN.

REFERENCES CITED yEhe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France Feb. 25, 1922 

